Charice ready for love life?

She’s turning 18 on May 10, so is Charice ready for a love life?

“If you ask my mom (Raquel ex-Pempengco),” Charice told Funfare, “she would say that it’s okay na. But for me, hindi pa ako handa. I still enjoy what I’m doing. My image may have changed at pati ang kilos ko, pero deep inside me bata pa rin po ang pakiramdam ko.”

On Feb. 14, Charice will star in the Valentine show Charice in Concert with Ryan Cayabyab at the PICC Plenary Hall (starting at 8 p.m., produced by Face Figure Center), with special guests Erik Santos, George Yang, The Ryan Cayabyab Singers and Ogie Alcasid. Even if she has yet to fall in love, she will be singing love songs straight from the heart.

Asked who her ideal boy is, Charice blushed while answering, using her personal silver wireless microphone at yesterday’s mid-morning presscon at the Piano Bar of Hotel Rembrandt.

“Sa local, si Sam Milby; sa international, si Justin Timberlake.”

 She started singing when asked what her favorite love song is, I can wait forever if you say you’ll be there, too..., drawing applause from the select media guys present, and then she continued singing, Two less lonely people in the world...

“I like both old love songs and the new ones,” she said.

As usual, Charice was singing more from her throat than from her diaphragm, and she could hurt her vocal chords as some singers did.

“She has been ‘commandeered’ by David Foster to take lessons and eventually Charice will correct that,” said Ryan who has handled Charice in two TV specials but is working with her in a concert for the first time. “She’s being handled well.”

Is Charice singing the right songs?

“She’s in transition; her voice is hilaw pa for mature songs. She can’t help but sing the songs she’s singing now because ‘yon ang hinihingi ng mga tao. But eventually, she will warm up to songs that are appropriate for her.”

At the presscon, Charice again recalled how much fun she had doing a guest role in Alvin and the Chipmunks (recently shown in the Philippines) as a contestant in a campus singing contest.

“I’ve always been a Chipmunks fan,” said Charice while hugging a life-sized doll named Charles Revenni Chester (CRCstands for her intial and those of her mom Raquel and brother Carl), again breaking into a Chipmunks song sounding, yes, like a Chipmunk.

And what would be her next Hollywood outing?

“None so far,” said Charice, sounding far more sophisticated than she was before she was discovered via the YouTube by Ellen DeGeneres two years ago. “If ever, I want to play a killer.” And who would she want to kill, if and when? “Si Tom Cruise,” she said, breaking into laughter.

Does Ryan think Charice will last long?

“Although she’s her own woman now, it all depends on her handlers. She will last until her handlers are interested in her. It’s not like forever na ‘yan. Everything will depend on how she’s handled and how they project her and, of course, on how she handles her voice and her talent.”

One of Charice’s “handlers” is Oprah Winfrey who invited Charice to guest on her show Oprah after Charice “debuted” on Ellen.

By the way, is it true that Ellen has some tampo with her (because Charice now favors Oprah)?

“There’s no such thing. Nagkakaintindihan silang dalawa. I can appear in their shows. No problem there.”

What tips on, hmmmm, boys does Charice get from her Tita Oprah?

“Huwag daw muna ako magbo-boyfriend.”

(Note: For tickets to Charice in Concert with Ryan Cayabyab, call TicketNet at 911-5555.)

Briefly noted

• Escuela Legarda is celebrating its first anniversary. And as school year 2009-2010 comes to a close, it’s open to new students.

The first graduates from Escuela Legarda successfully hurdled the entrance examinations of top-notch schools like La Salle Greenhills and St. Theresa’s College, Quezon City.

Escuela Legarda offers wholistic and quality pre-school education boasting of English-speaking teachers and a great learning environment with a garden and wide outdoor space surrounded by trees and nature where children can explore and enjoy without having to worry about the dangers of the city streets.

Located in the heart of Sampaloc, Manila, Escuela Legarda encourages students to love reading, to speak English, to learn Math, to enjoy art, to interact with peers.

For more information on Escuela Legarda call (02)3795034 or 09228306454, email [email protected] or visit us at #1 Sobriedad Rd. Balic-Balic, Sampaloc Manila.

• Here’s Fr. Joey Faller’s healing schedule for the rest of the month: Feb. 3, 12:15 p.m. at SM Megamall; Feb. 5, 7 p.m. at Oasis of Love, Camp Crame, Quezon City; Feb. 6, 9:30 a.m. at Kamay ni Hesus, Lucban, Quezon, and at 5 p.m. an Anticipated Mass also at Kamay ni Hesus; Feb. 7, 6 a.m. on ABS-CBN and 8 a.m. on NBN Channel 4; Feb. 9, 5:30 p.m. at St. Joseph Parish, Carmona, Cavite; Feb. 10, 9:30 a.m. at Kamay ni Hesus, Lucban, Quezon, and 5 p.m. at Our Lady of Lourdes Iyam, Lucena City; Feb. 11, 4 p.m., Healing Explosion in Basilica of St. Michael the Archangel Parish, Tayabas, Quezon; Feb. 12, 4 p.m. at St. Francis of Assisi, Sariaya, Quezon; Feb. 13, 9:30 a.m. at Kamay ni Hesus, Lucban, Quezon; Feb. 14, 9 a.m. at SM Bacoor, Bacoor, Cavite; Feb. 15, 4 p.m. at Sacred Heart Parish, Mandaluyong City; Feb. 16, 9:30 a.m. at Buklod ng Pag-ibig Healing Center, Balete Extension, Quezon City; Feb. 17, 9:30 a.m. at Kamay ni Hesus, Lucban, Quezon, and at 6 p.m. at Parish of the Risen Lord, San Pablo City; Feb. 19, Cebu City; Feb. 20, 9:30 a.m. at Kamay ni Hesus, Lucban, Quezon; Feb. 21, 8 a.m. on NBN Channel 4 and at 9 p.m. at St. James The Great Parish, Ayala Alabang; Feb. 23, 5 p.m. at La Salle, Taft Avenue, Manila; Feb. 24, 9:30 a.m. at Kamay ni Hesus, Lucban, Quezon, and at 6:30 p.m. at San Ildefonso, Makati City; Feb. 26, 12 noon at Export Bank, Buendia, Makati City, and at 7 p.m. at Metropolitan Hospital, Masangkay St., Sta. Cruz, Manila; Feb. 27, 9:30 a.m. at Kamay Ni Hesus, Lucban, Quezon, and at 5:30 p.m. at Graceland Estates, Tayabas, Quezon; and Feb. 28, 9 a.m. at SM Bacoor, Bacoor, Cavite.

(E-mail reactions at [email protected] or at [email protected])